Whether it is Nutella, iPod or Google, successful inventions are quickly followed by an imitation. This was no different in the past than it is today. By the end of the late 18th century, Abraham Louis Breguet was the undisputed lord of the watchmakers. Marie-Antoinette, Napoleon Bonaparte as well as Czar Alexander I were among his clientele. Breguet created a vast number of ingenious watch creations of high quality, among which were the Souscription, a watch with only a single hand. Despite this detail, it was still possible to read the time from it almost precisely to the minute, thanks to the well-devised dial. Others wished to profit from such brilliant inventions as well. Soon a large number of counterfeit Breguet watches began to flood the market. In order to protect his work, Breguet added a secret signature to his watches: The 4 mm long signature below the 12 is visible only when examined in oblique light. The watch on the left bears this signature; the one on the right does not and is therefore a fake.
Pocket watch, Model “Souscription”, Breguet, c. 1815, Inv. K-0550
Pocket watch with single hand, Breguet (apocryphal), 1st half of 19th century, Inv. K-669